Song Qingshu had originally planned to wait for Wanyan Ping to leave before finding an opportunity to speak with Song Yuanqiao and the others. 

However, he had overlooked one crucial detail—once Wanyan Ping left, the main door would be shut. Since this was a heavily guarded prison, designed to prevent prisoners from escaping, the door could only be opened from the outside. No matter how skilled he was, there was no way for him to open it from within.

Of course, he could force his way out, but that would inevitably alert the guards. If he startled them now, all his previous efforts would be wasted.

Was he supposed to just stay here and wait for the next time someone entered? What if no one came for days? 

That would put him in a dire situation. Wanyan Gebi would not be able to keep his secret for long, and the longer he remained here, the greater the risk of being discovered by the guards. Although there weren’t many guards stationed in the prison, there were still some.

Just as Song Qingshu was growing increasingly anxious, his ears twitched, and he quickly darted into the shadows, his gaze locked onto the main door. A few breaths later, the door swung open. A sharp-eyed eunuch stepped inside, sweeping his gaze around the room. 

Song Qingshu’s heart tensed, and he instinctively shrank deeper into the darkness.

“Greetings, Chief Eunuch,” the prison guards hastily saluted.

“Hmm,” the eunuch responded indifferently before striding forward to inspect the surroundings. “I was chasing an assassin just now, and they disappeared near this area. Have you noticed anything unusual here?”

“Reporting to Chief Eunuch, our security here is tight. There’s no way an assassin could have entered,” someone promptly replied.

“Hmm.” The eunuch shared the same thought. He had only come to check as a precaution.

As the eunuch passed by Song Qingshu with his back turned, Song Qingshu seized the moment. With a slight push of his toes, his body flickered like a wisp of smoke, slipping soundlessly through the door. The guards’ attention was entirely on the eunuch, and though they felt a faint breeze, none of them considered that someone had just brazenly walked out right under their noses.

However, the eunuch immediately sensed something was off and abruptly spun around. “Who’s there!?”

After dashing outside, Song Qingshu did not flee immediately. Instead, he deliberately doubled back. When the eunuch looked up, all he saw was a masked figure stumbling in from outside the courtyard, as if they had unintentionally barged in.

“Where do you think you’re going!” The eunuch spread his arms wide and lunged at Song Qingshu like a bat.

Song Qingshu’s eyes narrowed—this eunuch was highly skilled!

In the brief exchange of blows, Song Qingshu intentionally restrained himself, feigning internal exhaustion and allowing himself to be “injured” by the eunuch’s strikes. Taking advantage of the moment, he pretended to flee in panic.

The eunuch was not about to let him escape so easily and immediately gave chase. But the moment Song Qingshu slipped out of his sight, he unleashed his full speed, performing Qinggong and vanishing into the night.

Standing atop the laundry courtyard’s wall, the eunuch fumed and shouted, “Seal off all four gates! Don’t let the assassin escape!”

Hearing this, Song Qingshu, hidden in the shadows, finally exhaled in relief. The reason he had doubled back was to create the illusion that he was the assassin who had infiltrated the palace tonight. This way, the eunuch would not suspect anything unusual in the laundry courtyard, ensuring that his future plans to rescue Song Yuanqiao and the others would not be jeopardized.

Once the pursuit had moved away, Song Qingshu emerged from the shadows. He was about to leave when he suddenly paused, hesitating for a moment before heading toward the place where he had hidden Xiao Xingguo.

With the palace on high alert due to the assassin, security was bound to be tighter than usual. Even with his Qinggong, sneaking out undetected would be difficult. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to change his appearance and disguise himself as Xiao Xingguo. This way, the risk of exposure would be significantly reduced.

Since mastering the art of disguise, he had refined Ah Zi’s techniques and developed a faster, more convenient method. By preparing a blank mask in advance, he could imprint another person’s features onto it in an instant. Though this method had more flaws in terms of detail, it was incredibly efficient, making it perfect for emergencies like this.

Upon reaching Xiao Xingguo’s hiding spot, Song Qingshu’s heart sank—Xiao Xingguo was dead!

He had only struck the eunuch’s acupoint to make him unconscious; there was no way that could have been fatal. That meant someone else had come by after he left and killed him.

Upon closer examination, he found that Xiao Xingguo’s neck had been snapped.

‘Who could have killed him?’ Song Qingshu was full of doubts, but he knew this was not the time for speculation. Besides, he had no personal ties to this eunuch. His death had nothing to do with him, and there was no point in dwelling on it. No one else in the palace would likely know of his demise except for the killer. 

Song Qingshu only needed to borrow his identity to avoid the palace guards’ scrutiny—once he left, it would no longer be his concern.

After imprinting Xiao Xingguo’s face onto his mask, Song Qingshu quickly transformed into his likeness. He chuckled to himself—

‘I’m a grandmaster-level martial artist, yet I have absolutely no sense of dignity. Any other master would refuse to stoop so low as to wear a eunuch’s clothes. But I’ve always been pragmatic, so I don’t really care.’

Glancing at Xiao Xingguo’s c0rpse, Song Qingshu hesitated. The Laundry Courtyard was nearby, and if the body were discovered the next day, it could lead to complications.

‘Life extinguishes like a lamp going out. May you find peace in your next life and be reborn as a whole man.’

With that, Song Qingshu took out the Corpse-dissolving Powder he had obtained from Wei Xiaobao and sprinkled it over the body. Within moments, the c0rpse melted into a pool of blo0d, leaving no trace behind.

Dressed as Xiao Xingguo, Song Qingshu confidently strolled through the palace. Watching the palace guards rush past him, oblivious to his true identity, he could not help but feel smug.

“I really am a genius!”

But his smile suddenly froze.

His sharp instincts alerted him to a presence hidden among the artificial rock formations nearby.

His first instinct was to change his route and avoid the person. However, doing so would be too obvious. He was already just a few steps away—if he suddenly altered his course, it would clearly indicate that he had noticed them.

Based on his previous interactions with Xiao Xingguo, the eunuch had no martial arts skills. How could he possibly detect someone hiding nearby?

Song Qingshu had no idea who the person was. If it was an assassin, that was one thing. But if it was one of the palace’s hidden sentries, discovering that a mere eunuch possessed high-level martial arts would completely expose his identity.

Confident in his abilities, Song Qingshu quickly devised a plan. Pretending not to notice anything, he continued walking forward. He decided to assess the situation before making his next move.

Feigning ignorance, he nonchalantly passed by the artificial rocks. Just as he was about to let out a sigh of relief, his body suddenly tensed—

A blade was pressed against his back.

Song Qingshu instinctively prepared to counterattack. The moment the sword pressed even a fraction deeper, he would retaliate with a lethal strike.

“Don’t move, and don’t make a sound, or I’ll kill you where you stand,” came a weak female voice from behind him.

Song Qingshu’s expression shifted in surprise.

That voice…

Why did it sound so familiar?

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay